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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fork — in a road
  4. tear — to rip
  5. stem — to come from
  6. game — a match
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. present — there
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. present — a gift
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. present — the time now
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com